Bone grafting has been commonly used to augment healing in the treatment of a broad range of musculoskeletal disorders. This procedure has several disadvantages. If the bone material is obtained from donors of the same species, such as an allograft, an increased risk of disease transmission and immune reaction exists. Bone material surgically removed from the patient, known as an autograft, is also undesirable because a sufficient amount of autogenous bone may not be available and the additional surgery necessary to obtain the autograft increases the risk of infection.
Both autografts and allografts have their drawbacks and therefore safer bone graft substitutes would be beneficial. These safer substitutes are usually constituted from non-bone derived materials. These safer substitutes ideally should be biocompatible, bioresorbable, osteoconductive, osteoinductive and osteogenic for the generation of new bone at the site of injury (i.e., at intended bone graft site). In addition, the implant should not be infiltrated by other surrounding soft tissue cells that may interfere with bone tissue growth. Ideally the implant should also provide an environment that is maximally conducive for new bone growth at the intended target site. Any soft tissue cells that infiltrate the porous implant surface will inhibit the process of new bone growth or even truncate the developmental pathway to new bone tissue. This type of problem may cause a severely weakened graft or even a non-union and hence a failed implant. Failed implants have increased morbidities, impose additional suffering upon patients, and increased costs for both patient and society.
Therefore, there continues to be a need for improved bone implant materials that address the issue of cellular fibrous tissue in-growth into the implant which potentially interferes with new bone growth. The present disclosure addresses this need.